Sharp County record., 1887-12-22
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
20 David's Thirst During a Bat
tie With the Philistines.
Refreshing Drau:ht From inc We"
# bethlehem Compared With the
Perpetual JOY Drawn From
the Well of the Gospel

he Perpetual JOY Drawn froh
on the Well of the Gospel
~ ~ ,ho subiect of a recent sermon by Kew
Do Witt Talmage at the Brooklyn l 1ao-
po WTbirst in a Cavern" pre-
ar cated on the following text:
{. On that one would give me drink OF tne ~ates
"a NE we'll of Bethlehem, which Is oy 'Ae S"'0'
:. Samuel, xiii, 10, iii
yor always distressing, is especially
> '.ors in harvest time. When the crops
y al ready for the sickle, to have them
= ,oddon down by cavalry horses ana
! ,avv supplv-trains outlying the ne!uS'
= ienouub to make any mans heart SICK
when the last great war proKe ouV III ~
rons and France and Germany were cohi-
inq into horrid collision, l rode acroso >
,he;r Golden harvests and saw their tents
njtcbed and the trenches dug in the very
Midst of the ripe fields, the long scy tne Oh
battle sharpening to NOV down mar Ee'Gs
of men in great winrows OF the deau' ~
nos az this season of harvest that the
army Of the Philistines came down upon
patbIabam. Hark to the clamor OF their
voices, the neighing of their chargers tne
blare of their trumpets, and the claSn Oh
their shields -, rbo
I lat David and his men fall back! Inc
| Lords host sometimes loses the day. But
| Dovid knew where to hide. He had been
brorght up in that country. Boys are IN
nrisitive. and they know all about the
Tagion where they were born and brought
mn If YOU should go back to the old home.
stead, you could, with your eyes smut, ma
your way to the meadow, or the orchard'
or the hill back of the house, with which
Eou were familiar thirty or forty years
400. So David knew the cave at Adullam.
Perhaps, in his boyhood days, he had
nlaved "hide.and- seek" with his comrades
all about the old cave, and though others
might not have known it, David did.
Travellers say there is only one way OF
getting into that cave, and that Is by a
very narrow path; but David was stout'
and steady-headed, and steady-nerved,
and so. with his three brave statf-otficers,
he goes along that path, finds his way
into the cave, sits down, looks around at
fhe roof and the dark passages OF the
mountain, feels very weary with the
forced march; and water he must have or
die.
do not know but there may have been
drops trickling down the side of the cav
~rn, or that there may have been some
water in the goat skin slung to his girdle,
but that was not what he wanted. He
wanted deep, full, cold drink, such as
man gets only out of an old well with
moss covered bucket. David remembered
that yerv near that cave of Adullam there
was such we'll as that, well to which
he used to go in boyhood-the we'll OF
Bethlehem; and he almost imagines that
he can hear the liquid plash of that well,
and his parched tongue moves through his
hot lips as he says:
Oh! that one would give me drink Of the wa
ter Of the well Of Bethlehem, which is by the
gate.
1t was no sooner said than done. The
three brave staff officers bound to then
feet and start. Brave soldiers will take
even a hint from their commander
f3ut between them and the wei
il av the host of the Philistines; and wha
I could three men do with great army!
Yet where there is will there is a
way, and with their swords slashing this
way and that, they make their path tC
the we'll. While the Philistines are
amazed at the seeming foolhardiness OF
these three men, and can not make up
their minds exactly what it means, the
three men have come to the well. They
| drop the bucket. They bring up the
water. They pour it in the pail, and then
! start for the cave "Stop them !" cry the
+ Philistines. "Clip them with your
swords. Stab them with your spears.
Stop those three menw Too late. They
have got around the hill. The hot rocks
are splashed with the overfowing water
from the vessel as it is carried up the
cliffs. The three men go along the dan
gerous path, and with cheeks flushed
with the excitement, and all out of breath
in their haste, to the side Of the cave, and
cry out to David: ''There, captain of the
host, is what you wanted, a drink of the
we'll of Bethlehem, which is by the gate"
A text is Of no use to me unless l can
find Christ in it, and unless l can bring a
.
arouse and comfort and bless, shall wish
l had never seen them; for your time
would be wasted, and against my soul the
dark record would be made that this day
| stood before a great audience Of SHINING,
suffering aud dying men, and told them
Of no rescue. By the cross of the Son of
God, by the throne of the eternal judg-
mant that shall not be! Nav the Lord
Jesus help me to tell you the truth to-
day.
My friends, we come to-day around the
Gospel well. We put down our pack of
burdens, and our implements Of toll. One
man must draw the waters for those who
have gathered around the we'll. l will
try and draw the water to-day; and if,
after l have poured out from this living
fountain for your soul, just taste of it
myself, you will not begrudge me
A drink from the water Of the we'll OF Bethle.
hem, which is by the gate.
q The Gospel WE'LL like the we'll spoken of
In the text, is a vel of Bethlehem. David
had known hundreds of wells of water,
but he wanted to drink from that particu-
lar one, and he thought nothing could
slake his thirst like that. And unless your
soul and mine can get access to the foun.
tain open for sin and uncleanness,
we must die. That fountain is the
well of Bethlehem. 1t was dug
in one night. 1t was dug by the light of
lantern-the star that hung down
over the manger. 1t was dug